MOScout Daily Update: Burks in CD-5 - House Perfects VLT Bill, Needs More Votes for Passage - Why We Lose to Georgia and more…
Breaking… Burks Preps CD-5 Run
Candidate filing opens one week from today, and it sounds like we’re close to having our first officially announced Republican candidate for CD-5.
One source: “Taylor Burks has been diligently working his relationships across the district to gauge support for a congressional run in the new CD-5. With confidence that the maps will remain in place, he will make a formal announcement this week that will include more than 30 key endorsements across the district.”
Burks, former Boone County Clerk, has been seeking a congressional seat for the past couple of cycles.
· He placed fourth out of a crowded 7-way Republican primary in 2022, when Mark Alford (with 35%) won the CD-4 race.
· He entered but then withdrew another crowded 7-way Republican in 2024. That was in CD-3 where Bob Onder ultimately prevailed (47%) over Kurt Schaefer (37%).
I wonder if we’ll see another 7-way here, or if the uncertainty surrounding the new maps and litigation, and a looming referendum will dampen interest in the seat.
Hardwick VLT Bill Ekes Out Perfection Vote
Rep. Bill Hardwick’s bill to legalize and regulate VLTs was perfected by the House yesterday. It was a TIGHT vote. 68-60, with 17 voting present and another 13 absent.
Hardwick will need to lasso 14 of those non-voters to reach the constitutional majority of 82 for passage.
The recent news on VLTs has all put Torch Electronics on the defense…
· A federal judge declared the machines illegal.
· The Columbia City Council is looking at an anti-gray machine ordinance.
But one veteran of the building sounds optimistic… “The hard-core no’s were heard from, and there aren’t enough of them to stop it. I credit Hardwick’s bridge building. And the speaker and the majority leader still have a whole lot of cards to play for a whole lot of members.”
Still, the Senate side is a notably harder lift…
· Senators with concerns are simply harder to cajole into Yes votes; they often require some assurances or accommodations.
· And the potency of the filibuster means passage is more than just collecting Yes votes. You have to dull the sharpness of the opposition so No votes don’t turn into hours upon hours of debate that kill the bill without a vote.
eMailbag: DTF ATL
MOScout readers explain why the new series DTF STL, supposedly set in St. Louis, was in fact filmed in Atlanta, despite Missouri having a film tax credit.
· Missouri’s cap is just $8M… Georgia’s tax incentive is uncapped. That show costs nearly $8M an episode to film. The production company would have lost millions of dollars filming in MO.
· Missouri lawmakers have been shortsighted about tax policy and its impact on location decisions. Nearly two decades ago Georgia enacted its film tax credit and then invested in studios, crews, and infrastructure. Our credit might be good for a one off or independent production, but we can’t compete with major studios like Tyler Perry and Trilith, which have transformed the city into a top filming hub, surpassing California in annual production output.
Chiefs Move May Hit Arts Funding
Missouri Arts Council Executive Director Michael Donovan, testifying last week in the Senate Appropriations Committee, mentioned that the governor’s office recommended a cut to their core.
I think the reasoning for this has come from the assumption that when the Chiefs move to Kansas that they will reduce the non-residents athletes and entertainment tax which currently gets about $40,000,000.
· But… it’s anticipatory? [The Chiefs move] wouldn't be for five years.
Pollitt Landfill Bill Dies in Committee
Yesterday, Rep. Brad Pollitt’s HB 2288 failed a Do Pass Motion in the Special Committee on Governmental Affairs. The vote was 7-5.
A few years ago, landfills was one of the dominate issues of the legislative session. Pollitt had offered this bill saying that it gave necessary local control as rural counties are becoming “landfill capitals.”
But the vote seems to reflect concern that the bill went too far. The industry had warned, in testimony, that it would “eliminate the ability of any disposal facility in Missouri to be sited or expanded.”
Researching Permitless Carry Impacts
Arnold Ventures announced its latest grants to “test public safety interventions.” See them here.
Among them, one to Washington University researchers…
Name: The Impact of Permitless Carry Laws on Firearm Violence and Community Safety
Description: This project uses difference-in-differences to evaluate the impact of changes to states’ permitless carry laws on homicides and non-fatal shootings.
Geographic Focus: National
Grant Recipient: Washington University
Principal Investigator(s): Julia Fleckman, Brigham Walker
Term: 2025 — 2029
Amount: $158,900
· Their previous working draft had found “permitless carry laws were generally not associated with sustained differences in the number of victims or suspects injured or killed.”
Kirkpatrick to SOS
James Aaron Kirkpatrick is Chief Counsel of the Securities Division of the Secretary of State’s office.
· He was previously the Senior Drafting Attorney for the House, and before that served the Joint Committee on Legislative Research.
$5K+ Contributions
Sander For Missouri - $5,001 from Chris Sander.
Missouri House Democrats Action Fund - $20,000 from IBEW 124 Voluntary Political Fund.
Lobbyist Registrations
Olivia Wilson added Arevon Energy.
Kyna Iman added Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.
Heath Clarkston, Doug Nelson, and Michael Henderson deleted ReUp Education, Inc.
Jonathan Dalton deleted eBay, Inc.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Sen. Brian Williams, Jon Ratliff, and Pat Jakopchek.